[NU Sports] Big Ten bowls ... 0-1

[Jeff Beamsley]

Joe wrote <snip>

As always, nothing personal intended to Mike, Tom, and other Husker fans on
the list.  It's probably not your fault you became Big Red fans!  ;)  I
couldn't stand Tom Osborne (still can't), I actually didn't mind Frank
Solich as much, and I have to admit that I kind of like Bill Callahan (just
as I also have to admit that I like Pete Carroll but still root against
USC).  Still, any school that fires a coach who went 9-3 the year before
deserves a few decades of consistent losing.

==================

My loyalties were certainly divided too.  I grew up in Nebraska and
witnessed the growth of Nebraska football starting with Bob Devaney and
Thunder Thorton.  Unless you've been there, it is impossible to overstate
how much Nebraska football means to the self-image of the people who live
there.

I live in Michigan now.  I also have a kid who just graduated from
University of Michigan and another who may end up going there.  It was
painful to see how the officiating specifically affected Michigan's comeback
attempts.  They had a terrible no call on pass interference for the go-ahead
touchdown, the loss of a play or two in the final drive because the
officials didn't hustle to restart play, and a terrible no call on the last
play of the game when the Nebraska bench ran on the field.  As Stephan said,
the officials appeared overmatched from the opening kickoff.  Even the
announcers, who normally are going to try to give the bowl game refs a
break, were early on questioning whether these refs had the necessary
experience to ref a game with these sorts of players.

Finally, regarding coaching changes, Callahan has done an outstanding job of
re-inventing Nebraska football.  They are clearly back on the track to
greatness and are just a recruiting class or two away from elite national
status.  IMHO, this sort of radical surgery was the only way that they were
going to get it done.  Nebraska wants to regularly contend for a national
championship.  They weren't going to be able to do that with an option
offense.  They had to adopt a spread offense and that wasn't going to happen
with the old guard that was in place (no offense to Frank Solich). Sometimes
you can remodel the house.  Sometimes you have to knock it down and build
new.   

Jeff